Improvement in distilling oleaginous matter



To U w27/m11, it 11u/1j concern:

upon the frequent recharging` ofthe apparatus,

Vfor a long time to a high temperature, which 'the di'stillat-in proceeds, to avoid the necessity .Nmap Tn'rss 'PATENT ANTHGNY M.. POISAT ANI.) DAVID (l. KNAB, OF PARIS, FRANCI likt?PROVFlt'lENT IN AlZilSTILLl NG OLEAGINOUS MATTER.

Specification forming;- part of laitiers Patent No. 7, [24, dated February 23, lSU.

lic it knownthat we, ANTHONYMARIF, lotser and Invii) CLovis KNAB, of Paris, iu the Republic of France. have invented an improved method OfdiStiIlingfat-ty and oleaginous substances, such-as fat, tallow, oil, lard, M3.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the principle or character which distinguishes our invention from all other things before known, and of themethod of making, constructing, and using the same, reference being' had to the. accompanying drawings, making part of this specification., which represent a longitudinal and cross section ofthe apparat-us. y

The same letters indicate like parts in all the figures. i i

The distillation of fatty and oleagi nous Substances has heretofore been attended with many practical difficulties. It has heretoforebeen conducted in large boilers containing, generally, from eight hundred to one thousand gallons, and they have been made large to avoid the waste of time and fuel consequent whichat every new charge, must be reheatcd. As heavy-charges, such as those above indicated, require a long time to distil them, some i portions of the charge are necessarily exposed has the effect to partly decompose fatty and oleaginous substances. lf these substances are exposed to a temperature higher than is required for their distillation, the product will be vitiated, and as-they do not from their very nature circulate freely if the boilerl be unequally heated, portions will be overheated and injured, while others will not be sufficiently heated tobc distilled. The more dense thc fluid the more slowly will it give out its vapor, from the fact that the mass does not circulate so freely, and finally it is known that the presence ot' atmospheric air in the distillation of these substances is injurious.

- \Vith the view to avoid the defects in the modes heretofore practiced, our invention consists, iirst, in combining with a boiler for the distillation of fatty or oleaginous substances a self-feeding apparatus that the substances to he distilled may be, continuously supplied as either of repeated rechargings and the loss consequentthereon, or toavoid the exposure or' the substances too long` to the high temperature necessary to the distillation, which has the effect to partly decompose such substances; second, in the-distillation of' fatty or oleaginous substances in a boiler or boilers, the introduct-ion ot'jets of steam at or near the bottom of the boiler to inducetl'ic circulation of the substances under treatment, and thereby to carry off lnore rapidly the volutilizcd parts,

and at the same time to prevent the admission of atmospheric airto the substances under treatment, the introduction of such jets ot' steam being supposed to have a beneficial chemical effect, although we have not been able to determinethis; and the last part of our invention consists .in using. in combination with an apparatus for the distillation ot' fatty or oleaginous substances a lead bath at or near the melting point, interposed between the fire and boiler, to indicate the proper temperature for the distillation ofsuch suhsta11ees,and at thcl same time to diffuse and equalize the-temperature and preventany-part from being more highly heated than others, and also to prevent any sudden and injurious transition of ten1- perature.

The boiler A., whiehcontains thesuustance, to be distilled, is cylindrical (but maybe of other form) and is immersed in a bath of melted lead or other metal or compound of metals which will melt at the saine temperature as lead. rlhe vessel B, which contains,

the metal bath, is to b'e placed over or in c0nnection with a furnace ofany desired construction. The lead bath" should be of such depth as to rise above the level of the substancesto be distilled in thc` boilers. lhc lead bath being a goed conductor of calorie so soon as it is melted will heat all the parts of the boiler im-` mersed in it to an equal degree, and as the heat of the fire has to be transmitted to! the boiler through the -metal bath any sudden transition of heatl in the furnace will not seriously affect the boiler, and as the bestimmperature for the distillation of such substances is at the temperature1 of melting lea-d the attendant has always a sure indication of the temperature required.

The substance to be distilled is introduced into the boiler by a siphou or other tube, lil;

be melted before it is supplied to the funnel of the feeding-tube lil. and the said vfeedingtube should be. of sufficient height to supply the boiler by the pressure of the column. The boiler is also provided with a box, F, and pipe H, leading to a refrigerator or condenser, I J, of any desired construction, into which the products ofthe distillation pass. The substances condensed pass through the pipes L L into a reservoir, and the vapors that are not condensed escapetnrough achimney, K. The box F is provided with dischargetubes G G, through which are discharged any impurities thatmay be carried up into the box. At one end, and as near the bottom as practicable, .there is a discharge tube, M, provided with a stop-cock for the discharge of the residuum, A pipe, N, connected with :from the boiler. any appropriatesteam-generator by a pipe. O, passes through and into the boiler, and runs .along-near the bottom thereof, and the said tube is perforated with numerous small holes for discharging steam in numerous, si'nall iets in and through the substance to be distilled. 'The steam, in passing up through the fatty or oleagi nous substance, will carry with it the globules of the substance volatilized, Ywill aid in diffusing thc heat through the mass,

and at the saine time will produce a circulation of thc substance to aid in liberating thev v olatilized matter. The steam, after passing through the substance, will pass with the volatilized matter into the refrigerator andbe there condensed.

' By means of Ithe currentsof steam and the lead bath we are enabled to distill fatty and oleaginous substances with great economy and at the. lowest possible temperature, and hence to obtain the purest products. After the boiler has been charged it should be fd continuouslg,r to correspond with the distillation, and when the residuuin has accumulated sufficiently, which will be after the boiler has received about equal to the charges, then the feeding is to be arrested until the whole charge has been distilled andthe rcsiduum discharged and cleaned out, which is done through a tube' or 1nan-hole l. ofthe usual construction.

XVe do not wish to be limited tothe peculiar constrlu-.lion and arrangement ofthe appa.-

-ratus hereinabove described, as the boiler may be variously constructed and still answer tie A ment which we deem the best and'have es 'sayed with success.

Te have discovered that the temperature at which suoli substances can be distilled with the greatest ladwtntage to yield the best article is properly indicated bythe temperature of leadat the melting-point-that is. when it changes from the solid tothe liquid or from -the liquid to the solid; and. as this change is very risible in lead, su'ch a bath will always indicate to the attendant whether the tenipcratnre applied be too low or too high.

What we claim as our invention, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. Facilitating and improving the distillation of fatty and oleaginous substances by the introduction of steam at or near the bottom 1 -of the boiler containing such substance, sub- ,staptially as .herein described, in combination with thc application of externabheat, as described. A

2. The process, substantially as described,

of distilling 'fatty and oleaginons substances `by means of a bath of melted lead or an alloy which will meltat the saine temperature, substantially as and for the purpose described, whereby we are enabled to effect the distillation at the lowest possible temperature and have a practical indication of such temperature, as described.

A. M. POISAT. [L sa D. C. KNAB. [n s. Witnesses JOHN LA Bonini,

2 Louis Le Graad Street. Niconls NDRY,

127 St. Lozere Street. 

